Y is for Yippee and Yikes #AtoZChallenge

Posted April 29, 2019 in A-Z Challenge / 1 Comment

The Blogging from A-Z Challenge continues today. Throughout April I’m posting about my life as a writer, including my inspirations, frustrations and celebrations.

I’m beginning to understand that the writing life is a roller coaster ride. There are joyous revelations and successes that make us yell “Yippee!” as we are catapulted high into the sky:

  • I figured out my villain’s motivation!
  • I just thought of the best twist EVER!
  • That is the best piece I ever wrote!
  • I won the contest!
  • I’m getting published!
  • I got a 5 star review!

When you love what you do and things are going well, it’s an amazing, giddy feeling. Unfortunately, these ‘yippee’ moments are punctuated by plenty of ‘yikes’ moments:

  • I don’t know where this story is going!
  • I need to cut half the word count!
  • The deadline is TOMORROW!
  • This is the worst thing I ever wrote!
  • I got rejected!
  • I’ll never get published!
  • I got a 1 star review!

As a case in point, today’s ‘yippee’ moment is that Masquerade: Oddly Suited comes out tomorrow, and I designed some graphics to share and scheduled my ‘unmasking’ post. Then, just when I was about to go to bed, I had my ‘yikes’ moment: I had forgotten to write my A-Z post for today! My irresponsible past self hadn’t even bothered to think of the title, let alone compose the post. So here I am, at close to midnight, determined to get it done in time.

Sticking stubbornly to my roller-coaster metaphor, stomach-turning twists and drops like these can send our self-esteem plummeting and could even de-rail us completely if we let them.

But we can’t let them. We have to shut our eyes through the parts that scare us and keep going until we start to climb up again. Because without experiencing the troughs* of failure, we’re just coasting along a monorail, with no chance of hitting the peaks of success. That’s true of life in general, right?

And sometimes our ‘yikes’ moments unexpectedly become ‘yippee’ moments. They can inspire us to take action and get creative. This hastily written post may turn out to be more popular than something I spent hours working on and worrying over. A rejection may turn out to be fortuitous when we find an even better opportunity elsewhere.

So, what I’m trying to say in my sleep-deprived state is: embrace the ups and downs of your life and try to enjoy the ride! *bursts into song*

Goodnight, folks!

*snigger

Before you go…

What ‘yipee’ and ‘yikes’ moments have you experienced recently?

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